It may be BMWs logo, but it's us "little people" that buy their brand and keep them going. I would have no problems selling this car, and then sending them a letter saying you just lost a customer. I actually have grown quite fond of the MINI brand, but if BMW is going to act like a bunch of crybabies, then why would I want to support a company like that?

On another note, this isn't new. It actually started in Britain when the new MINI was just thrown out on the market. All the Mini garages around England started getting threatening letters from BMW's attorneys saying that they couldn't use the word Mini in their company's name. Some of these people had been working on classic Minis long before BMW got their grubby little hands on the trademark. Another thing that ticks me off, is what they did to Takara/Tomy. Takara/Tomy went to BMW to get licensing permission for a MINI Cooper Transformer in their "Alternators" line. BMW originally said yes as long as the figure didn't come with weapons. Takara/Tomy then showed them a prototype, and because they had already made the prototype without their permission, they said no. What kind of idiots would give up the opportunity to have their car immortalized as a licensed transformer? Obviously BMW, or could it be they feel those stupid "men of metal" wanna be transformers is what people want. I understand they have to protect their trademark, but they are a little ridiculous at times.

 

Hello,

It isn't just MINI/BMW. VW and I have been going back and forth a bit. I thought it was just VW until I came here and other websites for a bit of research. The fact is MANY of the auto companies have been doing this. And CafePress is cracking down on more than just BMW/MINI or VW/Audi owners with stuff at CafePress. These automakers must have the same attorney who's going down a list and has reached CafePress.

VW, Ferrari, Dodge (Viper), and Porsche have even gone so far as to claim the need to protect their "trade press," or chasing after anything that features the "distinctive shape" of their vehicles. The problem isn't necessarily enthusiasts' photos. Instead, it's the possibility that someone, CafePress in this case and mine, is making money off the trademark or even the trade dress.

I think our legalism can get a bit out of hand. But we Americans are routinely forced to bend as a result of a minority. In this case, someone somewhere is abusing trademarks and trade dress to make money and/or deceive customers. The unfortunate result is those with good intentions are suffering the consequence when all we're doing is spreading a bit of love for our cars. All we need to do is figure out what we can get away with and/or use resources which aren't so popular.

Take Care,

Scott

 

COOPERation sent me the first batch of designs with changes made to comply with the new Cafepress/BMW guidelines. The main change is removal of the hinted MINI wings at the top of the design, although Craig has also made some other color and aesthetic changes. Before and after samples are below. I have the R50/R53 owner's badge section up and running now and will continue to add more until everything is updated. Thanks for your support everyone!

 

Honestly... I like the new ones w/ the wreath better

Glad this worked out!

 

Well go figure...All this time I thought the image above the MINI was hinting at Steak & Shake.


This is probably why I can't lose any weight, food on the mind..

 

Steak and Shake, Southwest Airlines, Chrysler, Bentley, etc....

But hey, I'm glad we ended with permission to use the likeness of a MINI. Without that more than half my wardrobe would have been illegal!

 

Glad you are satisfied MINI Bee, and that it worked out for you.

 

Thanks. And really, I'm glad it worked out for all of us. More than anything I wanted to make sure those designs were available to the MINI community.

I worked all day on Sunday to get everything updated in the store. Today I woke up to find that all the new things I had uploaded were deactivated by CafePress! I called my contact there and she was very apologetic and said a person who thought it was still a violation of the BMW IP to have designs with MINIs in them had turned off all the stuff. She turned them all back on when we were on the phone and now all is well. I was ready to give up!

I even have a special holiday section in there with Christmas cards and ceramic ornaments now. It's good to be moving forward on this.

If anyone else has MINI designs in there that meet the BMW guidelines but are still set to "pending" status, give them a call and see if they can change the status for you.

 

Does this mean that my car will be repo'ed by BMW? I have a variation of their wing on my MINI, (or is it BMW's MINI?).